Toothbrushing frequency among 4-6-year-old Iranian children and associated maternal attitude and sociobehavioral factors

Toothbrushing and Access to Dental Services in Peruvian Children

Objective. The aim was to determine the association between access to dental services and toothbrushing in Peruvian children under 12 years old. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study with a population of 2021 database of the Demographic and Family Health Survey. Records of children under 12 years old who provided answers about their toothbrushing were included. Variables were evaluated descriptively and followed by a bivariate analysis; multivariate tests were performed using Poisson regression with a multilevel regression analysis. Results. General toothbrushing was 96.32% (n = 34 198), and daily toothbrushing was 88.05% (n = 28 444). Access to dental services was associated with general toothbrushing (aPR: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.14-1.22; P < .001), daily toothbrushing (aPR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.04-1.12; P < .001) and minimum toothbrushing 2 times a day (aPR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.07-1.17; P < .001). Conclusion. Access to dental services was associated with general toothbrushing, daily toothbrushing and toothbrushing at least twice a day.

Material of choice for non-invasive treatment of dentin caries: An in vitro study using natural carious lesions

INTRODUCTION

In community settings with limited dental personnel and equipment, and in an era when the aerosol transmission of infectious agents is on the rise, a non-invasive approach to caries management is critical. To provide information on non-invasive material selection, the aim of this study was to compare the remineralization effect of commonly used fluoride-containing materials, adjunctive to the everyday use of fluoride toothpaste (F-toothpaste), on primary tooth natural dentin caries.

METHODS

Fifty-five specimens were randomly divided into five groups: 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF), 5% fluoride varnish (F-varnish), glass-ionomer cement (GIC), deionized water (DW) with F-toothpaste slurry, and DW as a control group (n = 11). The lesion depth and mineral density were measured before and after bacterial pH-cycling using micro-computed tomography. The percentage of mineral density change (%MDchange) was quantified. The dependent t-test, Wilcoxon-Signed-Rank Test, and one way ANOVA with Bonferroni correction were used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

SDF application reduced lesion depth from 844.6 to 759.1 μm (p < 0.045) while increasing mineral density from 551.4 to 763.0 mgHA/cm3 (p < 0.003). Only mineral density rose from 600.2 to 678.4 mgHA/cm3 (p < 0.013) when GIC was used. The other groups showed no difference. The highest %MDchange was also found after SDF treatment (49.7%, p < 0.05), whereas GIC (17.2%, p < 0.05) presented a higher percentage than the F-varnish (2.0%), F-toothpaste (-1.1%) and no-treatment groups (-1.4%).

CONCLUSION

In this in vitro study, where the pH of cycling was almost neutral, using SDF as an adjunct to F-toothpaste resulted in the highest remineralization compared with other remineralizing materials.

Parent's self-reported tooth brushing and use of fluoridated toothpaste: Associations with their one-year-old child's preventive oral health behaviour

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to examine if the tooth brushing frequency and use of fluoridated toothpaste of the mother and father were associated with the tooth brushing frequency and use of fluoridated toothpaste for their 1-year-old child.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study is part of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. Questionnaire data were obtained from 1672 mothers and 867 fathers on tooth brushing and use of fluoridated toothpaste, age, education, number of siblings and parity (when the child was 1-year-old). For 763 families (mother and father), data from both parents were available. Tooth brushing was dichotomized to at least twice daily (2× day) and less than 2× day, and use of fluoridated toothpaste for child to at least once daily and less than once daily. The association between brushing of child's teeth (both parents less than 2× day) and use of fluoridated toothpaste for the child (both parents less than once daily) with parent's own tooth brushing was modelled with logistic regression analyses adjusted for family-related variables (parents' age and education, number of older siblings) using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

Families in which both parents brushed their own teeth less than 2× day were more likely to brush their child's teeth less than 2× day than families in which both parents brushed their own teeth 2× day (OR = 9.23; 95%CI = 5.42-15.69). The likelihood of not brushing the child's teeth 2× day was less strong when at least one of the parents brushed his/her own teeth 2× day (mother 2× day: OR = 1.97; 95%CI = 1.25-3.10; father 2× day: OR = 2.85; 95%CI = 1.51-5.40).

CONCLUSIONS

Less frequent tooth brushing of both mothers and fathers was strongly associated with less frequent tooth brushing of their child. When educating parents on child oral home care, parents' own home care and inclusion of fathers also need more attention.

Peruvian children toothbrushing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Toothbrushing is a convenient, inexpensive, widespread and culturally accepted method, resulting in an ideal public health outcome. This study aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on toothbrushing in Peruvian children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted using a database of children aged 0 to 11 years, with a final sample of 39,124 participants, 15,974 in 2019 (62.03%) and 7088 in 2020 (55.54%). General toothbrushing, daily toothbrushing and minimum frequency of two times a day were dependent variables; the year was considered as the independent variable. In addition, other covariates such as geographical landscape, area of residence, place of residence, altitude, wealth index, health insurance cover, sex and age. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were applied. Results: General toothbrushing was 96.19% (n=51 013), daily toothbrushing was 87.47% (n=42 246) and minimum toothbrushing two times a day was 84.53% (n=33 957). In multivariate form, the year presented a negative association with daily toothbrushing (RPa: 0.97; CI95%: 0.96-0.98; p<0.001) and minimum toothbrushing two times a day (RPa: 0.97; CI95%: 0.95-0.98; p<0.001), adjusted for the previously associated co-variables. Conclusions: The year 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted daily toothbrushing and minimum twice-daily toothbrushing of Peruvian children.

Peruvian children toothbrushing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Toothbrushing is a convenient, inexpensive, widespread and culturally accepted method, resulting in an ideal public health outcome. This study aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on toothbrushing in Peruvian children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted using a database of children aged 0 to 11 years, with a final sample of 39,124 participants, 15,974 in 2019 (62.03%) and 7088 in 2020 (55.54%). General toothbrushing, daily toothbrushing and minimum frequency of two times a day were dependent variables; the year was considered as the independent variable. In addition, other covariates such as geographical landscape, area of residence, place of residence, altitude, wealth index, health insurance cover, sex and age. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were applied. Results: General toothbrushing was 96.19% (n=51 013), daily toothbrushing was 87.47% (n=42 246) and minimum toothbrushing two times a day was 84.53% (n=33 957). In multivariate form, the year presented a negative association with daily toothbrushing (RPa: 0.97; CI95%: 0.96-0.98; p<0.001) and minimum toothbrushing two times a day (RPa: 0.97; CI95%: 0.95-0.98; p<0.001), adjusted for the previously associated co-variables. Conclusions: The year 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted daily toothbrushing and minimum twice-daily toothbrushing of Peruvian children.

Parental social-cognitive correlates of preschoolers' oral hygiene behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Regular and consistent parental involvement in children's oral hygiene practices is crucial to prevent oral diseases in young children. This emphasizes the need for interventions targeting parental-supervised oral hygiene behavior. To inform the design of future interventions, this meta-analysis aimed to identify the parental social-cognitive factors associated with oral hygiene behavior of preschoolers.

METHOD

Five bibliographic databases were searched. A study was eligible for inclusion when it reported an association between a parental social-cognitive factor and an oral hygiene behavior in the targeted age cohort. Meta-analyses were performed when there were at least four independent effect sizes (k > 3).

RESULTS

Of the 5945 records identified, 25 studies contained eligible data to be included in four meta-analyses: attitude (k = 12); self-efficacy (k = 12); intention (k = 6), and sense of coherence (k = 5). The results showed that greater frequency of preschoolers' oral hygiene behavior is significantly associated with parental attitudes (r⁺ = 0.18), self-efficacy (r⁺ = 0.34), and intention (r⁺ = 0.29), and not significantly associated with parental sense of coherence (r⁺ = 0.08).

CONCLUSION

Self-efficacy, attitudes, and intention were identified as significant correlates of parental-supervised oral hygiene behavior. However, this is a limited evidence base and many social-cognitive factors, such as self-regulatory processes including planning and action control, have yet to be explored in this context. The significant social-cognitive correlates identified in this study, as well as potential other self-regulatory factors, should be targeted in future intervention studies aimed at improving this important preventive behavior.

Determinants of Oral Health Behavior among Preschool Children: Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Dental caries is the most common chronic disease among children. Determinants of children's oral health behavior should be better understood and known.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the predictive factors of oral health behavior among preschool children based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

MATERIALS AND METHOD

This cross-sectional study included 833 mother-child pairs referring to twenty health centers in Tabriz, North-West Iran, from August 2014 to November 2015. The participants were selected by multi-stage stratified random sampling. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires completed by the participating mothers. The questionnaire consisted of demographic characteristics, oral health behavior, and TPB structures (attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention).

RESULTS

The mean±standard deviation (SD) of children's age was 4.6±1.1 years (ranging 3-6), and 52% were boys. 20.3% of mothers had university degrees. The mean (SD) score of children's oral health behavior was 5.8 (±1.9) out of 8. Muliple regression analysis revealed a positive relationship between all TPB structures and children's oral health behavior F(11,821)=41.8, R=0.6, (p< 0.001). Furthermore, the TPB structures explained 35% and 29% of the variance in children's oral health behavior and maternal intention towards it, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Based on the current finding, TBP is the important predictor of children's oral health behavior. Effective promotion interventions could be designed based on this predictor to help improving the children's oral hygiene behavior.